George e



(No Model.)

G. E. ELLIOTT.

WAGON TRACK.

Nb. 433,118. Patented July 29, 1890.

UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE.

WAGON- TRACK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 433,118, dated July 29, 1890.

Application filed March 22, 1890.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. ELLIOTT, of Thompson, in Vindham county, and State of Connecticut, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Wagon-Tracks, of which the following is a specification.

The object is to provide a track suited to vehicles of varying widths which may be conveniently and expeditiously laid along the ordinary dirt roads of the village or country, and which will not be liable to sink or become distorted however heavy the load supported thereon and whatever he the condition of the soil in which it is laid.

\Vith these ends in view my invention consists in certain features of construction and combination of parts, as will be hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure i represents a portion of the track as it appears laid for use. Fig. 2 represents a transverse section through the track at the point. where the ends of two adjacent rails meet and where the chairs are located, and Fig. is a view of one of the chairs in detail.

The rails have a widelevel bearing-surface A, which gradually slopes downward for a' little distance atone of its edges, as shown at a, and which, at its opposite edge, gradually rises and rolls over and then outward and downward, forming the ridge 13 with sloping sides Z) toward the ilat bearing-surface and b toward the edge. The broad flat bearingsurfaee is to provide for vehicles of \"arying width. The edge is for the purpose of giving the wheels a tendency to remain on the rail while the sloping sides of the ridge pro vide for running a vehicle from a position outside of the track into position on the track, or vice versa, without any serious jolting or blocking of the wheels, as would be the case with a rail having abrupt sides. The down ward slope of the rail at its opposite edges has a further purpose, in that it affords a convenient and effective means of securing the rails in position without leaving exposed any sharp angular heads of t'astenings which would be liable to interfere with the feet of the draft-animals. The rails as thus con- Serial No. 344,871. (No model.)

structed are laid along the surface of the ground at the proper distance apart and are secured and supported by chairs, as follows: The chairs consist of inverted- U-shaped pieces of metal having the upper or bight portion O flattened to correspond with the under face of the flat portion of the rail, and the ends of its branches turned laterally outward, as shown at c, to form extended bearings. It is intended in practice to make the upright branches of the chair in the neighborhood of one foot in length and to make the width of the flanges c one foot, more or less, as the condition of the soil demands. The chair is to be embedded in' the soil with its top just below the surface, thus carrying the flanges 0 down one foot, more or less, according to the condition of the soil. The chair is further provided along the rounded angles D between the upright portions and, the top with lugs or clips (Z, partially severed from the metal of the chair and bent upwardly to receive between them the opposite edges of the rail. The free ends of the lugs (Z extend up about on a level with the road-bed, so that the rail presents to view for the most part a smooth unbroken surface. The ends of two meeting rails resting on a chair, as above described, are prevented from springing up and down and thereby working themselves into the dirt, while their adjustment on the chair is very simple. The lugs (I might be raised from other portions of the chairs than the extreme edges, although the form shown is preferred, and other slight changes might be made in form and arrangements of the several parts without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention; hence I do not wish to limit myself strictly to the construction herein set forth; but,

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The herein-described wagon-track, consistin of rails formed of flat strips of metal having wide bearing-surfaces and rolled upward over. and downward along their outer portions to form flanges and having their inside and outside edges sloped gradually down- Ward, iri combination with supportingchairs brace the downwardly-sloping edges of the shaped to conform to the wide bearing-surrails, substantially as set forth. faces of the fiat rails and rounded at their opposite edges to correspond with the down- GEORGE E. ELLIOTT. 5 wardly-slanting edges of the fiat rail, said Witnesses:

chairs being provided with clips struck up JOHN R. COGSWELL,

from the opposite edges in position to em- SAMUEL H. SEWARD. 

